Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Easiest MP3 player for Grandma?

Mar 14, 2011 10:55AM PDT

Hi There, I'm looking for something portable to play audio books for my Grandma. She's 91 with bad eyesight and minimal technological skills.
I was thinking something with a big touch screen where she just has to press a button to open each file?
Any suggestions would be most helpful.
Thanks, Sarah.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
No touch screen better
Mar 14, 2011 1:00PM PDT
- Collapse -
Easiest MP3 for Grandma
Jul 20, 2011 2:04AM PDT

My Mum is 88. Registered Blind and totally without any tech skills. For her I have bought 4 Ipod Shuffles (2nd Generation) which I keep continually loaded with books, plays, stories etc. gained free from http://radioarchive.cc/index.php .

The beauty of the Ipod Shuffle is that she needs only press the centre button to play and stop. When stopped the Ipod goes to sleep after a while thus preserving the battery.

The drawback is that should she be part way through a book and the battery goes flat, a recharge sends the book back to the start. This I avoid by two methods. (i) never put anything on there that lasts longer than say 9 hours. (ii) Using a wall charger rather than the PC. By switching off the Shuffle and recharging via the wall charger the place in her audio book isn't lost.

I hope this helps.